


love sinks (hope floats)

by princeandcheekbones



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alcohol, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Miscommunication, No Smut, also i cant come up with titles to save my life, bear with me, but it's pretty minor it's just one scene and it's not out of control or anything, dont worry about the title there's really barely any angst, idk im the worst at tagging im sorry, if that makes you uncomfortable, implications of sex though, its not really even angst its just being super dramatic, like minor minor angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-15
Updated: 2016-05-15
Packaged: 2018-06-08 16:37:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6863680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princeandcheekbones/pseuds/princeandcheekbones
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>“I think Harry’s proposing,” is the first thing Louis says when Niall picks up, to which he receives a choked garble from the other end of the line.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>“Come again?” Niall asks incredulously, which – well, is understandable, considering a mere few weeks ago they were discussing Louis’ plans of proposing to Harry himself. As it happens, plans change.</em>
</p><p>or</p><p>louis wants to propose and niall's a bit of a blabbermouth when drunk. add an impatient harry and some misinterpreted hints to the mix and you have yourself a hot mess.</p>
            </blockquote>





	love sinks (hope floats)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bluegreenlarry](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluegreenlarry/gifts).



“I’m going to do it.”

Niall looks up in confusion at the sudden sound of Louis’ voice. They’ve been sitting in a comfortable silence for the better half of an hour, Niall watching some golf program on the telly while Louis scrolls aimlessly through social media on his phone. Had anyone walked in they might have found it lame, two friends spending time just sitting in silence, but it’s a comfortable silence, so they don’t really mind.  

“Do what?”

“Propose!” Louis says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. And, well – it kind of is. He’s been talking about it to Niall for quite some time now, trying to figure out the perfect when and how. He’s not worried Harry would say no, is the thing. They’ve been talking about it forever and he knows his boyfriend wants this just as much as he does and that it’s just been a matter of timing and one of them actually doing it. It’s just that, well, Louis wants everything to be perfect. He’ll only get to do this once, after all, and Harry deserves the best and even better.

“Really?” Niall asks, a gigantic smile stretching across his lips. “Oi oi, ’bout time! What’s the plan, then?”

“I have absolutely no idea,” Louis admits with a sigh. “But I’m doing it within the next few weeks, I think.”

“That’s my boy, always got a solid plan,” Niall chuckles, which earns him a playful shove from Louis paired with a roll of his eyes.

Okay, so maybe Louis isn’t the most organised person and doesn’t always have a straightforward plan of action ready to go, but he always gets there in the end, and isn't that what’s important?

“Oh, fuck off. It’s going to be great, though, I really don’t think he’ll see it coming. He’s been so preoccupied with work lately it’s not exactly been at the forefront of his mind.”

“God, I can already see his face when you get down on that knee. Do you think he’ll cry? I think he’ll cry.”

Louis laughs softly at the image and agrees, and they spend the next few minutes tossing around possible ideas and locations. After opting against a parachute stunt, a tandem wakeboard, and an intricate plan involving 16 pugs and a hot air balloon, they consider it best to call it a day.

“I’d better head home, Harry’s just texted me that dinner’ll be ready in 20 minutes,” Louis says, getting up and stretching out his legs.

“Keep me posted on the proposal stuff! I’m so happy for you, man, I really am, you and Harry are my absolute favourite couple,” Niall says with a tone so sincere Louis thinks there’s a high chance a tear or two might be about to make its way down his cheek any minute now.

He clears his throat and leans down to give Niall a hug before leaving.

*

“I’m home!” Louis calls as he steps inside the apartment, placing his keys on the dresser next to the door.

“In here!” Harry’s voice calls back from the direction of the kitchen, from which a promisingly delicious scent is wafting. Louis makes his way over and comes up behind Harry, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend’s waist as the latter stands over the stove prodding at some kind of fry up.

“Missed you,” Harry murmurs as Louis brings his chin up to rest on Harry’s shoulder.

“I was gone for, like, two hours,” Louis laughs, but smudges a kiss onto his shoulder.

“Still,” Harry says simply, a cheeky grin on his face as he cranes his neck to press his nose into Louis’ cheek, to which Louis responds by resting their foreheads together. “Niall all good?”

Louis nods and launches into a retell of a story Niall had been telling him from last week involving a stop sign, some packing peanuts, and a dirty laundry basket, which sends Harry into an uncontrollable fit of laughter that doesn’t stop until the forgotten food on the stove starts making a suspicious sizzling sound and smoke starts snaking up into the air around them. They stare at each other with wide eyes in silence for a split second, before erupting in laughter again as Harry tries to save the blackened contents of the skillet.

*

On Friday night, they go out with the rest of the lads to celebrate Liam finally being hired as the newest waiter at one of London’s finest hotels’ restaurants after a strenuous few months of application after application. Despite the glitzy appearance, setting tables and serving snooty people pasta isn’t too glamorous, he says, but a job’s job and the pay isn’t bad.

Niall arrived a little later than the others what with not getting out of work until half seven, but he’s caught up nicely, already on his fourth beer.

“Life is so good,” he says, a noticeable slur to his words. “Isn’t life good?”

Zayn leans back to be able put his arm around Niall’s shoulders with a placating pat. “Life is good, it is,” he agrees, humouring his friend as the others just chuckle.

“Hate to interrupt this beautiful moment, lads, but I’ll be back in a second, just got to use the loo,” Louis says, getting up from his seat at the end of the booth and pressing a kiss into Harry’s hair, which Harry responds to with a twinkling smile.

Zayn groans. “You two are so gross,” he says with a sigh. “It’s as if you’ve been together for six days, not years.”

“Aw, poor Zaynie, are you feeling neglected? Would you like a kiss, too?” Louis asks, a sympathetic pout playing on his lips. Without giving Zayn a chance to protest, Louis leans down and smacks a wet kiss on his cheek before retreating to the bathroom, leaving a groaning Zayn to wipe his saliva off his cheek while the other three giggle. 

“Honestly, you pair have been in the honeymoon phase your entire relationship,” Liam says to Harry with a roll of his eyes, but his affectionate to gives him away. 

“And now they’ll be going on an actual honeymoon!” Niall exclaims happily. “Life is a beautiful thing, I told ya.”

“An actual honeymoon?” Harry asks in bewilderment.

“Well, with Louis popping the question and a-“ Niall halts abruptly, eyes widening and mouth dropping into an “o” as he realises what he’s just said. “I… Uh, I don’t think I was supposed to say that.”

“Lou’s proposing?” Harry whispers, a glint in his eyes.

Niall is clearly distressed, suddenly seeming very interested in fiddling with his beer mat. He clears his throat. “So, uh, I was reading this story on Buzzfeed yesterday abo-“

“Niall!” Harry interrupts him. “Did Louis tell you he’s going to ask me to marry him?”

Harry’s face has completely lit up, he’s positively beaming. Niall’s eyes dart around the room, desperately looking for an escape as he tries to continue his story. “So, this Buzzfeed article—“

“Why’d he tell you and not me? I’m his best mate!” Liam exclaims with a pout as Niall sighs, dropping his face into his hands and rubbing at his eyes with the palms of his hands.

Zayn does a 180-degree turn to face Liam, looking playfully but at the same time not-so-playfully appalled. “Excuse me, I’m pretty sure he’s exclusively told me I’m his best mate,” he corrects him, a dainty hand flat against his chest in shock.  

“Well that’s some shit right there, I’ve known him the longest so obviously I’m his best mate!” Liam rebuts.

“Technically—“ Niall starts off, but is interrupted by Louis, who has evidently returned from the loo.

“What are we talking about, boys?” he asks. Everyone stops dead in their tracks, turning their heads to look at Louis who is smiling, completely unaware of what they now know.

It’s silent for a moment before Zayn pipes up. “I’m your best friend, right?”

While Zayn and Liam argue over a bemused Louis, Harry, who is still on cloud 9 from the revelation and so hasn’t even bothered trying to jump in and set the record straight, because _clearly_ he’s Louis’ best friend of all, feels his phone buzz in his pocket.

 **From: Niall**  
To: Harry, Liam, Zayn ****  
swear t god if you tell louis I let itslip Ill have yuor heads ifhe doesnt havve mine 1st !

*

On Sunday, Louis suggests a picnic in Hyde Park. They pack a nice basket full of fruit, wine, chocolate, and the bread Harry had baked that morning, and it’s beautiful and romantic. In Harry’s humble opinion, it would be a wonderful occasion for certain questions to be popped and moves to be made, and he spends the entire picnic on the edge of his metaphorical seat, waiting for Louis to clear his throat and tell him he has something important to say. He never does, though, and four hours later they’re on their way home and Harry’s left hand has exactly as many rings as it did when they came.

The next weekend, they drive up North to visit both of their families. This, Harry thinks, would also be an excellent time to make a certain proposition. What could be better than sharing such a joyous occasion with their families? Louis, however, does not appear to agree with this sentiment, and when on Sunday night they’re back in the car driving home, Harry’s left hand has exactly as many rings as it did when they arrived.

Five days later, in the last 10 minutes of his shift at work, he gets a text from Louis telling him he’s waiting in the parking lot to drive him home, which is unusual as Harry takes the tube most days since they only have one car and Louis’ work has worse public transport connections. Harry realises this would be the perfect opportunity to be asked put on a blindfold and actually drive him to, for instance, the restaurant they had their first dinner at upon arriving in London to live together four years ago, and then execute a sentimental proposal. Louis, on the other hand, seems to genuinely have just been wanting to give Harry a nice little surprise to finish off the working week, and fifteen minutes later they’re pulling up in their driveway, and much to Harry’s chagrin but not surprise at this point, his left hand continues to bear the exact same amount of rings as it did when he left for work that morning.

He’s rung Niall what has to be four hundred times over the past few weeks, trying to get any information at all out of him with growing persistence, but Niall’s approach to his slip up is apparently to very determinedly pretend it never happened and that he has no idea what Harry is talking about. As desperate as Harry is to know, there’s only so many times he can listen to Niall change the subject to some football game he watched the night before before he’s forced to recognise that he’s flogging a dead horse.

Harry, usually a relatively patient person, knows he’s being a child. He knows, he does, and he also knows it’s completely uncalled for and irrational when he starts getting slightly miffed at Louis the more days go by and the more not-engaged they remain.

He says as much to Liam when he gives him a ring while Louis is out getting groceries a few days later.

“I just don’t understand what’s taking him so long! It’s been – what, three weeks since he told Niall he'd do it? My ring finger is very much empty and very much accepting new residents. Am I being unreasonable? I’m being unreasonable, aren’t I,” he rambles.

“Honestly, mate, I think he just wants to make sure it’s perfect. Give it some time, it’s been three weeks – and by that I mean only three weeks. Some people plan proposals for months, or more even! You know, I once saw this video where a man took a picture with his girlfriend secretly holding a note where he asked her to marry him every day for a _year_ ,” Liam informs him.

Harry’s not sure what Liam was going for with that story, but the only purpose it's ended up serving is to cause Harry’s heart to sink.

He groans, utterly horrified by the mere suggestion that he might have to wait a year. “I can’t wait a year, Liam! I bet he’s trying to come up with some big, fancy, intricate proposal but I really don’t need one. You’d think he knows as long as it’s him, nothing else really matters, it’ll be perfect by default.”

“That was quite possibly the plain cheesiest thing I’ve heard in my life, so I’m just going to pretend I was momentarily deaf,” Liam informs him. “Besides, if you’re so set on this, why don’t you take matters into your own hands? Drop some actual hints? Actually, come to think of it, why haven’t you done it yourself?”

“Eh, I don’t know; I guess the timing’s just never been right. It was always one of us had loads of schoolwork or it was hectic at work and then we were moving and then his sister got married and then… I don’t know, we’ve never been as settled as we are right now. But I couldn’t do it now, now that he’s set on it, I couldn’t steal his thunder like that. You mentioned hints, though, what exactly are you getting at?” Harry asks, frowning thoughtfully.

“What I’m getting at is set up the perfect moment. Lay out the groundwork. Take him out somewhere, to a really nice restaurant maybe – hey, I could probably get you a table at my work! It’s usually booked for months to come but I bet I could pull some strings.”

A billion thoughts and worries start whizzing around Harry’s brain. “Would that work though? As much as I want him to do it already, it’s not like I want to _rush_ him. What if he’s not ready? What if he doesn’t pick up what I’m putting down? What if he already has another plan? He’ll probably think something’s up, we never go out for fancy dinners.”

“Harry, you two have been together for six years, and he’s already told people he wants to do it. I think as long you tell him a few days in advance and give him time to prepare it should be fine. Maybe that push to get him to do it is just what he needs. And if he already has a plan, well, you get a nice date night at one of London’s nicest restaurants out of it. It’s a win either way, I don’t see how it could go wrong! So, how’s this Friday at 8?” Liam suggests.

“You’re absolutely correct, Liam. How did you get so smart? Right, well, sounds like a plan. You’re the best, you really are.”

Harry can hear the triumph in Liam’s voice as they exchange “love you”s and hang up.

*

“Liam,” Harry says, setting his phone on his stomach and turning to look to Louis. It’s nearing midnight and they’re lying in bed as they would any other night, both doing some final scrolling through their social networks before going to sleep.

Louis gives him a puzzled look, setting his phone down as well. “Name’s Louis, actually. Nice to meet you, you’ve been putting it up my arse on the regular for a good six years now,” he says, extending his right hand towards Harry.

Harry snorts, swatting his hand away. “Wow, romantic. Really, I love that that’s the first thing you thought of. Anyway, as I was saying, Liam,” he repeats. “Was nice enough to help me get us a table at his restaurant for this Friday.”

Louis’ eyebrows shoot up. “Really now? What’s the occasion?”

“No occasion,” Harry says with a pout. “Can’t I just want to treat my favourite boy to a nice little night out? We haven’t had a date night in awhile, figured it could be fun.”

“Of course you can,” Louis says reassuringly, leaning over to give him a kiss. “It sounds lovely, actually.”

“You’re lovely,” Harry grins, moving in to deepen the kiss so he’s hovering over Louis, phone sliding off his stomach completely forgotten.

“Oh yeah?” Louis smiles into the kiss. Suddenly, he’s flipped them over, so that he’s now fully on top of Harry. “I’ll show you lovely,” he says lowly, planting a sloppy trail of kisses down Harry’s stomach.

*

“I think Harry’s proposing,” is the first thing Louis says when Niall picks up, to which the Irish lad responds with an incomprehensible garble. “Hold on, have I woken you?”

“Yes, thanks very much,” Niall grumbles.

“It’s one in the afternoon! Don’t you have work?” Louis asks incredulously.

“Got the day off. So what was it you were calling for?”

“Oh, yes, I think Harry’s going to propose this Friday,” Louis says matter-of-factly.

“Come again?” Niall asks incredulously, which – well, is understandable, considering a mere few weeks ago they were discussing Louis’ plans of proposing to Harry himself.

As it happens, plans change.

Louis had lied awake for hours last night with his arms wrapped around a softly snoring Harry, face buried in his curls. As he gazed at the soft moonlight streaming in from under their curtains, it dawned on him that the only reasonable explanation for Harry’s slightly off behaviour from the past few weeks has to be that he wants to propose. The more Louis thought about it, the more it made sense.

Take just last night. Louis had come home and could hear the unmistakeable theme song of Friends on the TV, yet the minute he’d walked into the living room Harry had changed it to some wedding reality show, and asked Louis if he liked the venue the couple had chosen. _Lou, isn’t that just the most fantastic wedding venue you’ve ever seen? Weddings are lovely, aren’t they? What type of venue do you want someday?_

Or the previous week, when Louis had come down to the kitchen after Harry had already left for work, and awaiting him on the kitchen table next to his usual scrambled eggs had been a magazine open to a page with an advertisement for a company with a special deal on wedding cakes right now.

In the moment, Louis had just assumed he was projecting his own excitement and nerves from the whole decision to propose and was merely overanalysing everything and seeing something related to weddings everywhere, but now it all makes sense.

“He’s taking me out for dinner,” Louis explains.

Niall clears his throat. “You think he’s going to ask you to marry him because you’re going a date? Louis, is everything okay with your relationship? You’re aware I’m always here for you if you need to talk.”

“Oh, shut up,” Louis scoffs with a laugh. “No, it’s not just that, it’s the _context_. First of all, it’s a really fancy restaurant. We _never_ eat out at fancy places, not without a special occasion. I can recall exactly five proper fancy dinners from the last six years: our first anniversary, the night we moved to London, the time he got that big promotion, the time I got that big promotion, and on our five-year anniversary. Not to mention, he’s been strange lately, dropping hints about weddings and marriage everywhere. You know, just the other day we were on a walk and a car with ‘just married’ written on it drove by and he launched into a five-minute speech about what a beautiful thing love is and how great the concept of finding someone to spend your life with is and how in love with me and lucky to have me he is.”

“Jesus Christ, Harry,” Niall groans.

“Huh?” Louis asks, voice coloured with puzzlement.

“Oh, nothing, I just-“

“Niall Horan, do you know something I don’t?” Louis demands.

“Nope, no, definitely not! But, anyway, are you going to try and get in before he does?”

“No, of course not! I mean as much as I would love to give him a really nice, special proposal, I didn’t really have anything planned yet so it’s not ruining anything – I mean I bought a ring, but I suppose that’ll just make things easier. Meanwhile, if these hints he’s been dropping for literal _weeks_ are anything to go by, I think he’s really excited about this and put a lot of thought in so I think I’ll just let him have it. Not that I didn't wish I could do it, but the most important thing is just that it happens at all. Speaking of, isn’t it funny how we both decided to propose around the exact same time?”

“Haha, yeah, hilarious!” Niall replies with a laugh.

It sounds slightly forced, but Louis decides to let it slide and chalk it up to the fact that he’s only just woken up.

Niall clears his throat. “Right, well, if you don’t mind, I’ll be going back to sleep now.”

“Goodnight, Nialler,” Louis says, laughing a little as he glances down at his lockscreen after ending the call. The big 1:03PM at the top of the screen stares back at him.

*

“Good evening, gentlemen, are you ready to order your drinks?” Liam asks, beaming as he produces a wine list for Harry and Louis, then proceeds to help them pick one out.

It’s been a lovely evening so far. Since the hotel is only a 20-minute walk through a nice area from their apartment, they decided to go by foot. It was a clear, beautiful evening, the sky a pretty mix of pinks and purples and some orange here and there as the sun set. While traipsing through the park under the beautiful colours, his hand clasped tightly with Harry’s and the knowledge that he was probably about to be proposed to, Louis really didn’t think he could be more content if he tried. Harry, too, seemed even more excited and happy than usual. He’d been in a great mood all day, giving Louis extra bacon in the morning and showering him in compliments the moment he walked in even though it was the same old suit he wore daily.

It was almost as if Harry was trying to butter him up to make sure he’d say yes, although he knew they both knew there was no buttering up necessary.

As the night’s worn on, Harry’s started talking less and become increasingly fidgety. At first Louis attributed it to nerves, but now it’s started getting late and he’s yet to show any signs of proposing, which is stirring confusion in Louis. What exactly is he waiting for? The waiter has already come by twice to ask whether they want the bill, but both times both simply declined politely then went back to sitting in their, what was for the most part, silence.

“Anything in particular on your mind, love?” Louis asks suddenly, reaching out to cup his hand over Harry’s on the table and stroking the back of his hand lightly with his thumb.

“Nope,” Harry says, popping the p. “You?”

“Me neither, no,” Louis says, feeling the disappointment settle in his chest as he twists his lips up into a smile that feels a lot more forced than it should.

“Good, good. Uh, shall we get the bill, then?” Harry suggests.

“Good plan, let’s, er, let’s get the bill.”

They leave the restaurant in silence.

*

This is getting ridiculous. It’s plain awkward. _Awkward._ Louis and Harry are a lot of things, but awkward is not one of them. It just isn’t. They’ve been together for six years and known each other for nine in total, and during those years they’ve come to know one another like the back of their pockets. Awkward just isn’t a part of their repertoire.

They’ve been impossibly comfortable with each other from the moment they’d met, when Louis had barrelled into the coffee shop Harry was working a summer job at and begged for a slice of their infamous carrot cake even though he knew they were minutes away from closing and it was incredibly rude but it was _very_ important because he’d forgotten to get someone to cover his shift at the grocery store the next day while he visited his mum and he’d called in sick so many times he couldn’t bring himself to do it again but he felt bad asking Liam out of nowhere at the last minute so he had to get him his favourite cake to make up for the lost lie-in the next day. Once Louis had finished his word vomit, Harry had simply giggled then went to the back and fetched him a fresh slice of carrot cake and even added another slice for Louis himself on the house because he thought Louis was sweet to be so worried about Liam’s lie-in.

After that, they fell into a comfortable routine of seeing each other almost every day, Louis coming in with increasingly ridiculous excuses that always had Harry doubling over with laughter. They became fast friends and Harry and Niall fit seamlessly into Zayn and Liam and Louis’ little group and it was always just so _easy_.

Even when they fight, it’s never _awkward_ per se, just a little quiet until one of them can’t bare it anymore and breaks, usually no more than an hour later, and just like that they’re back to normal.

This, though. This is different.

The walk home last night was silent, which had then turned into a silent getting ready for bed, which in turn became a silent night, then a silent wake up and a silent breakfast and a silent morning of sitting on the couch and watching last night’s episode of The Voice and it’s really just getting ridiculous. They exchange a couple of words here and there, but it’s virtually small talk.

If he’s quite honest, Louis isn’t even entirely sure where the silence is stemming from. He reckons he’s personally being a little stupid for feeling so disappointed that Harry didn’t propose, considering at no point in time had he actually said he was going to, and it’s not as if this means they’ll never get married. It’s just—all those hints had gotten Louis so excited, and the prospect of finally getting engaged had caused butterflies to go wild in his stomach. And if Harry didn’t do it yesterday, when will he? Now that Louis is quite convinced Harry’s going to propose, it’s not as if he can do it himself, but he also doesn’t want to wait any longer. He wants to marry Harry so bad and as soon as possible. It’s not as if putting a ring on it would actually change anything, but adding extra cheese to a pizza doesn’t necessarily rock the boat yet it’s still a nice little bonus. (Louis decides he should probably keep this metaphor to himself; he doesn’t know how much Harry would appreciate them getting engaged being compared to cheese.)

It’s not just Louis, though. Harry’s being oddly quiet too, and Louis is pretty sure he’s not just projecting his own feelings. Harry’s been uncharacteristically apathetic since dinner, only throwing in a few words here and there and seeming quite defeat.

 

They’re sitting in the living room, Louis replying to some work emails while Harry watches a random episode of a German soap opera he can’t understand and probably isn’t actually watching at all. It’s been painfully quiet for half an hour, and Louis is getting tired. He lifts his head to study Harry, who’s frowning and seems to be deep in thought, at the exact moment as his phone buzzes.

 **From: Niall  
** Well how’d it go !

Louis stares at the text biting his lip before finally heaving a sigh and getting up.

He plops himself on the couch next to Harry so that he’s facing his side profile. “Alright, love, what gives?”

“Hm?” Harry hums noncommittally, keeping his eyes trained on the TV.

“Look at me,” Louis says, gently cupping Harry’s chin and pulling his face towards him. “What’s going on?”

“What do you mean?” Harry asks, dropping his eyes.

Louis takes a moment to swallow the snippy comment that’s making its way to his lips. Harry’s being unreasonable, here Louis is trying to talk out this non-fight and he won’t even look at him. Taking a deep breath, Louis does his best to keep his voice level. “You know what I mean. Ever since dinner last night it’s just been… weird. You’ve been really quiet. What’s up?”

“You’ve been weird too,” Harry rebuts, to which Louis replies by simply raising his eyebrows. Harry continues, “What’s up with you, then?”

He considers pretending not to know what Harry is talking about, but realizes this conversation will be headed nowhere fast unless he’s honest. “It’s stupid,” Louis admits with a frown.

Harry elevates his gaze at that and furrows his eyebrows, resting a hand on Louis’ thigh. “I’m sure it’s not. What is it, babe?”

Louis sighs, and this time it’s his turn to drop his gaze. He supposes he might as well just come out with it. “I—sort of thought you were going to propose last night and I guess I’m just a little disappointed? I just got my hopes up thinking it would happen yesterday and… I got so focused on that and then it didn’t happen and, I don’t know, I told you it was stupid.”

Harry, to Louis’ surprise, just stares at him, mouth forming an ‘o’ shape. “ _I_ thought _you_ were going to propose last night. Well, I hoped.”

Now Louis is just confused. “You what? Why?”

“Well…” Harry grimaces. “Niall may or may not have let slip a few weeks ago that you were planning on proposing, and I’ve kind of been on my toes since then waiting for you to just _do_ it. But then you weren’t doing it so I started dropping all these hints and then Liam suggested I give you a proper push so I booked a fancy dinner because we never go out for fancy dinners. And then you didn’t do it and I’m just getting a little impatient because it’s been almost a month and I wish you’d just _ask_ already because I just want to marry you goddammit.”

Louis drops his head into his hands. He doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry, he really doesn’t. He opts for muttering “Fucking Niall” instead. “Jesus Christ. I thought all those things were _you_ hinting at proposing to _me_ so I figured I’d just let you have it.”

“You did?” Harry asks, then bursts outs laughing, and suddenly Louis is laughing too. He leans forward to rest his head on Harry’s shoulder, who buries his face into Louis’ hair.

“Oh God, we’re so stupid, aren’t we?” Louis asks, trying to catch his breath.

“We are,” Harry agrees, still giggling uncontrollably.

“You know what?” Louis asks suddenly lighting up and lifting his head. “Don’t move.” He gets up and disappears up the stairs only to return with a little black box.

Harry’s jaw drops, his eyes going wide. “Is that—“

“We’ve waited long enough, yeah?” Louis says with a grin, dropping onto his knee in front of where Harry’s still sitting on the sofa. Then, despite himself, he gets back up. “You know, it’s a beautiful day outside, maybe it would be nicer, I really wish I’d planne-“

Harry cuts him off with a laugh and practically forces him back on to his knee. “ _Lewis._ I don’t need a beautiful setting or a big plan, I just need you.”

“Okay, okay, okay.”

Harry’s smiling so hard he looks as though he might break as Louis takes his hands in his. “I’m just going to go off the top of my head here, I—you’re the love of my life. You are. You’re it, you’re everything. I know it sounds so cliché, but you’re truly the best thing that’s ever happened to me. You inspire me to be better in a way no one else can. You’re my best friend in the whole world and there’s no one else on this planet I’d rather spend forever with. If you let me, I’d like to spend the rest of my life loving you, taking care of you, doing everything and nothing with you… You make me feel like the luckiest man in the world every day. There’s no one I feel better, happier, or safer around; you’re my home. So… Harry Edward Styles, would you please do me the honour of marrying me?”

Beaming so bright he could light up the Eiffel Tower, Harry surges forward to give Louis a kiss. “I thought you’d never ask.”

*

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this!
> 
> In case anyone was wondering, here's the original prompt:
> 
> Louis wants to propose to Harry. Niall accidentally tells Harry about it but Harry doesn't let Louis know that he knows. When 2 weeks pass and Louis *still* hasn't popped the question yet Harry gets impatient and books them a table in a restaurant that's known for being very romantic, thinking that Louis might get the hint. Louis, who knows Harry wouldn't take him to that restaurant without a special occasion thinks Harry will propose to him.  
> So no one proposes and they are both hella disappointed and sad. After a few days of awkwardness they talk and Louis finally proposes 
> 
> To bluegreenlarry, thank you so much for the wonderful prompt! I tweaked the timeline a little, but I hope this is along the lines of what you imagined! 
> 
> Feedback and constructive criticism would be very much appreciated!


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